The last thing she remembered before drifting into peaceful sleep were his crystal blue eyes gazing into hers. They were deep pools of tenderness mixed with savagery and they made her shudder as well as melt into comfortable warmth. If fate was to be her own, she would never leave his side.
Fate was not her own, however, and she awakened with a chill beside a fire that had long died out. There was no longer a lean, muscular body lying beside her, nor was there any sign that he had been there except for the discarded, bloody rags that had been used upon his wound.
“No,” she whispered into the silent cave, fighting back the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes. Intense pain ripped through her chest, even as, with her mind, she tried to apply reason to the wound that was left inside of her. Like the wild creature that he was, he was gone.
A Bride for the Barkeep
Chapter 1
Paige stood at the counter and tapped her fingernails impatiently as she looked around the room and out the windows overlooking the dusty main street of the dingy little western town. She knew what to expect so the town itself had not been much of a surprise. Her two younger sisters had also responded to the call for mail order brides and were each settled in western towns, but both were much further north. Paige had hoped to settle closer to each of them, but the ad she had accepted turned out to be further south than she had expected. She didn’t mind, she thought to herself, she was still close enough to be able to visit her sisters from time to time.
Paige was the eldest of the three, but all three had been orphaned in England and when they had moved to America to live with their mother’s brother and his family, it soon became apparent that he had no interest in helping the young ladies better their livelihoods. It was his wife, who made it no secret that she had no interest helping them when she had children of her own to raise and see settled, that had offered up the idea of finding suitable husbands out west.
For Paige, the idea had seemed foolish and dangerous. Marry a complete stranger? However, her youngest sister, Maria, had found the idea romantic. She almost immediately scouted newspapers and announcement boards in the telegraph office. Within a week, she found one that sounded appealing to her, and was off to meet her new husband within that very month. Once she was settled in her new home, her letters revealed almost an idyllic life with a young man who was good to her.
Paige still held on to her skepticism, but Maria’s success and the prodding of their Aunt, caused Paige’s middle sister to consider the idea. Julie was a little more cautious than Maria was, but still she found an ad that she thought sounded good, and spent a month corresponding with the young man before she also left. Still, Paige had stayed behind content to be critical of her sister’s immediate successes in their mail order marriages.
However, as the months passed and Paige’s Uncle started dropping more and more blatant hints at his attraction to her, sometimes in front of his wife, Paige realized she needed to move on, and quickly. So she too began scouring the newspapers and boards, but nothing seemed to stand out to her. When her Uncle laid his hands on her and attempted to kiss her, Paige grew desperate, so she went to the newspaper to advertise herself as a mail order bride.
She was shocked when she was delivered a bag of inquiries and offers. She had sat on her bed sifting through them listlessly, completely out of her element. She had never been good with the opposite sex. She was awkward around most men. She had no social graces, and had no patience with the games most women her age felt the need to play to gain a man’s attention. It was all foolishness in her mind. So as she read through the inquiries and offers, she found most of them to also be silly or over-blown or highly suspect and void of truthfulness.
“Oh Lord,” she prayed,”How do I choose?”
As the stack laid there in front of her, Paige decided to just have faith, and as she prayed for an unlikely miracle, she closed her eyes and reached into the stack determining that whichever one she held in her hand when she opened her eyes would be the one she would accept. After all, it really made no difference. Marrying a complete stranger was still marrying a complete stranger. So, when she opened her eyes to read the inquiry, which simply stated that the man was in need of a young woman to help him, and he would promise to treat her well, Paige thought it sounded good enough. Keeping to her own resolution, the following day she sent off a telegram in acceptance of the inquiry.
Three weeks later, she had left her Uncle’s home, and after a month of hard travel, she stood at a rough wooden counter waiting for her soon to be husband to fetch her. Paige drew her attention back into the room and glanced at her reflection in the huge mirror mounted behind the counter.
She took in her brown curly hair, which was escaping the pins that held it in a bun under her wide brimmed hat. Impatiently, she tucked the wisps behind her ears. She noted the blush in her cheeks and attributed it to the intense heat that radiated off the street and through the open windows. Her brown eyes were wide and a little nervous, but also there was a gleam of excitement in them. Paige smiled at her reflection. She did not consider herself all the pretty, but she was not ugly either. Where she may lack in looks, she knew she made up for in intelligence and character. She was confident she could tackle anything life threw at her.
Still looking at her reflection, she started to adjust her hat, and smooth the lace at the top of her dress. As she did so, she noted a man a little taller than her with black hair, a ragged beard, and blue eyes stagger into the hotel. He took his hat off once he entered and stood looking around the room. Paige turned to face him and as she did so, he noticed her.
The man approached her and held out his hand, and as he stood directly in front of her, Paige caught the intense odor of stale liquor roll off of him. She extended her hand as well, while she moved her scented handkerchief to her nose with the other.
“Miss Paige Trunkle?” the man asked as he brazenly looked her up and down clearly happy with what he saw.
“I am.” replied Paige wondering who the man was and why on earth he had been obviously drinking so early in the day, for it was not even noon yet.
“Wonderful!” replied the man, still gripping her hand tightly. “I am Mitch Frost. I am the one who sent for you.”
Paige’s mouth dropped open in sudden realization that the man standing in front of her was to be her new husband. As the color drained from her face and she realized she had made a horrible mistake, she looked more closely at the unkempt man in front of her. He had to be at least fifteen years older than her. There were strands of white in his black hair and a streak of it in his beard. There were deep creases around his eyes and in his forehead. His clothing, while of good quality, was certainly not cared for, everything was wrinkled, and looked as though had been slept in and worn for days. She had gloves on her hands, but even so, she could feel his hands were rough and in glancing at them could see he took no great care of them. “Oh Lord, what have I gotten myself into”
Mitch released Paige’s hand completely oblivious to her sudden consternation. He looked around her. “Where is your luggage?”
Paige glanced to the pile near the door, which consisted of a large trunk, a hat box, and two carpet bags. Mitch nodded his head realizing the stack was hers. He leaned across the counter and called out to the clerk.
“Hey, George! Have your bellboy, or whatever he is, bring this young lady’s luggage over as soon as you can, would you?” After getting a grunt of affirmation from the older man, Mitch took Paige’s hand and linked it through his arm. He smiled at her as he patted her arm.
“You and me got a date with the minister, I do believe.” Without waiting for Paige’s reply, even as a lump of dread fell deep in her stomach, Mitch led Paige out the door and down to the church where they were wed immediately.
After the simple ceremony, numb and in shock with herself more than anything, Paige was led out of the church and down the street. She paid no attention until Mitch stopped and exclaimed, “Well, my dea
r, this is your new home.”
Paige looked up at the building and realized in shock that he had led her to the saloon. The two story building was well-taken care of. The windows were clean, the front walkway which connected to the jail on one side and the general store on the other was swept clean. The upstairs windows, also clean, had lacey drapes hanging in them. However, Paige also noted the young women looking at her through the windows of the first floor. Each one was gaudily made up with their hair done in tight ringlets, their minimal clothing attesting to their profession. Paige’s eyes flashed to Mitch in question.
“We live upstairs of the saloon?” She envisioned the raucous noise as she tried to prepare dinner, or tried to put a sleeping child down for the night. Certainly, this was a temporary lodging. Her hopes were dashed when Mitch replied.
“Of course! We have the best room in the house! I own this place. What do you think?”
Paige felt suddenly nauseas as she realized she had just married a saloon owner; a saloon owner who kept prostitutes. Paige was no fool. In her 19 years, she had been around enough to know that tavern and saloon owners both in England and America who kept women also enjoyed those women often forming bonds that emulated married couples. As she and Mitch stepped onto the walkway, she felt the eyes boring into her from the women inside.
As they stepped into the main room of the saloon, Paige noted that the saloon interior, much like the exterior, was impeccably clean. There were few patrons that early in the day leaving most of the tables open. The tables were all clean. The chairs were sturdy and also clean. The spittoons looked as though they were brand new. Then her eyes were drawn to the women who were approaching her and she noted that even their garb spoke of a misplaced establishment. Paige was confounded; she expected these women to be scantily clad, of course, but what they did wear was made with the finest cloth and lace; fabrics she only expected to see making the finest gowns in high class establishments in the big cities.
As the women gathered around her, Paige counted five of them, one of the women stood out from the rest. She was a little older than the others, and her coloring matched Mitch. In sudden realization, Paige realized she was looking at his sister.
The woman with pitch black hair and shocking blue eyes stepped toward Paige.
“I gather my big brother did not mention his trade when he sent for you.”
At a loss for words, which rarely happened, Paige simply stared at the woman, while the other ladies snickered.
Mitch stepped forward still staggering slightly, “Off with you, Rose. This is my beautiful new bride. You all need to welcome her. Show her the ropes.”
Deep dread settled in Paige’s gut, surely he did not intend to have her partake in these women’s activities! She turned on her heel and squared her shoulders.
“There has been a great misunderstanding. I was not told any of this...”
Mitch moved to the bar and grabbed a bottle from behind it. As he twisted off the cap, he met Paige’s eyes with a sudden fury. “Of course, you were not, ma’am. No woman in her right mind would sell herself to a man like me. Why would she? However, you are here now, under false assumptions, and you are now mine, as my wife, and as my wife you will do all that is expected of you.” He glared at her and took a long gulp of the contents of the bottle.
Paige felt her anger rise up. “If you think for one moment that I will be your wife and also lay with other men like these women do...”
Mitch slammed his bottle on the counter, and stepped up to Paige. Roughly taking her chin in his hands, he glared at her. “I share my wife with no one.”
“But...” stammered Paige, her face hurting where Mitch was squeezing it.
“You will learn how to run the saloon, and how to keep it the way I like it. Rose, herself, is going to show you why I sent off for a ‘wife.’ and never fear, ma’am, I have absolutely no desire in having you fulfill any of your other wifely duties.” He jerked his hand from her chin, wiped off the counter where he had sloshed some of the foul smelling liquid and stormed up the stairs where Paige heard him stomp down a hall and then slam a door.
Rubbing her chin, with tears of anger and shock pooling in her eyes, she turned back to Rose who looked at her with a measure of concern, while the other ladies had gone back to staring out the front windows. Paige glanced around the room and saw that the few patrons that had been in the room somehow vanished. Mortified, wondering if they had heard, and wondering if she was soon to be the talk of the town. Her mind working fast, Paige had trouble fathoming what was going on. Had she been bought to be a servant?
Looking at Rose, Paige started, “Please... I don’t understand.”
Rose nodded and led Paige to a table in the corner. “I gathered as much from the look on your face when you walked in. Have a seat, girl.”
Rose grabbed a couple glasses from behind the bar and a bottle, which when she opened, revealed simply a juice. She poured the both of them a glass and sat down opposite Paige.
“You will have to forgive Mitch. He was not always like this. In fact, it was not that long ago that he was exactly the opposite...” Rose trailed off and stared in the distance obviously thinking of something past. Paige leaned forward, and Rose snapped back to the present. “Mitch is a widower, and a rancher by trade.”
“What on earth?” Paige interrupted only to be hushed by Rose.
“He will not talk of it. The truth is, this saloon was owned by our other brother. When he passed away, along with Mitch’s wife, the cheating whore, Mitch took over the saloon. He hates this place; always has. He hates that I prefer to do this, his baby sister. He hates that every corner of this place reminds him that his wife came here to spend more nights with his own brother than with him. He is angry, and he has every right to be.”
“Why on earth would he keep this place if it is so full of the ugly past?” asked Paige.
“Sense of duty, maybe? He blames himself for their deaths, maybe? Some in town say it was his fault. I don’t know. No one knows for sure what happened that night, but ever since, Mitch has had a bottle in his hand. He has insane mood swings. Every now and then I see my older brother, the one who was madly in love for over ten years- blindly perhaps, the one who cherished life, land, and his passion for the wide open spaces. I have tried to talk him into selling me the saloon, but to no good end.”
Paige sat quietly for a moment. She felt intensely sad for Mitch, but also suddenly unsure. “What is my role here if not to be his wife in truth?”
Rose lightly touched Paige’s hand. “In most ways, you will be a housekeeper. Mitch turned this place from a rundown heap into the shining beauty it is now, but he thinks he needs help to keep it up. He doesn’t really. The too clean atmosphere has driven most of our business away. My best clients are uncomfortable here now so... Be that as it may, Mitch wants you to learn his standards of cleanliness and help him keep it up. That will mean that you will be cleaning, cooking, sewing, doing light repairs, and so on. I hope you are not afraid of getting your hands dirty with a little hard work now and then, just as I hope you can hide your obvious distaste for me and my girls.”
Paige heaved a sigh of relief. “If clean is what he wants, clean is what he will get. That I can absolutely do. And I apologize, I do not understand why you would want to do what you do, but I will try not to show my distaste.”
Paige sensed an honest friend in Rose, and considering the odd nature of her situation, she was glad to have a friend.
Chapter 2
The next morning, Paige rose to a light knock on her door. She cracked it open to find Rose holding a candle and peering at her. Rose was already dressed for the day complete with her hair done in its tight ringlets and her make-up extravagantly applied.
“Come on. Mitch likes to eat breakfast before dawn breaks. You need to get a move on.”
Paige hastily got dressed and pulled her braid back and into a tight bun. As she left her room, which Rose informed her was at the opposite end of t
he hall from Mitch, she saw his door open a crack with a lamp burning within. Paige had spent most of her night lying away thinking of how horrible he must feel internally. She had not ever heard of such a horrible betrayal and had certainly never had seen anything like it. Paige felt intense pity for Mitch and had determined in the night that she would do everything in her power to help him. Maybe in time, she thought, she could help him find happiness again.
As she turned to go downstairs, the door to his room creaked open and he stepped into the hallway. His eyes were red rimmed and he was in the same clothes from the day before. His hair, long and untrimmed, hung around his face in limp strands and even from that distance she could smell the liquor on him and his clothes. He looked at Paige and waved half-heartedly as he moved into the separate washroom. As the door clicked behind him, Paige continued on her way making a new promise to herself- to see the man cleaned up and presentable, and if it killed her, to see him sober.
Chapter 3
After a month, Paige found herself settled into her new routine. She still had a hard time getting used to Mitch’s mood swings, though she already knew when they would be bad, which entirely depended on what he had been drinking that day, and how much. She had come to rely on Rose a great deal in handling Mitch during the worst of his drunken tirades, which often ended in smashed glasses, a great deal of shouting, and occasionally another broken chair. What amazed Paige was that even in the midst of his worst rampages, Mitch was still in control enough that he never took his anger out on anyone or anything in the main areas of the saloon, and he never ever raised his hand to anyone.
The only moment Paige felt unsafe was one night , nearly three weeks after she had arrived, when he was tearing up his own room again and she had gone in alone to talk him down. She had startled him, and he had thrown an entire bottle of his most expensive whiskey at her head. She had avoided it, but it shattered on the door frame, and the flying glass shards had flown into the back of her neck and ended up in her hair. As Paige had stood there in shock looking at her hand, which had blood from her neck, Mitch had sobered up almost instantly, terror clearly marked on his face. Paige realized his immediate remorse, but backed out of his room, still shocked and also fighting back anger of her own.
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